The 2025 women’s tennis season could not have had a more fitting finale than what we witnessed in Riyadh last week, as Elena Rybakina rose above a highly-competitive field to win her biggest title since Wimbledon 2022 at the WTA Finals.
The 26-year-old Kazakh went undefeated through the group stage before knocking out fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals and World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final to pocket $5.235 million – the largest payout in women’s tennis history.
“It's definitely a huge amount and honestly, I didn't think about any of that so much, but of course it’s great and we definitely need to celebrate really well with the team, family and everyone,” said Rybakina on Saturday.
Record prize money aside, this year’s WTA Finals delivered quality matches that perfectly conveyed the story of the season, where a core group of top-ranked women dominated the big stage and breathed new fire into the rivalries between them.
Here’s a look at the eight players that competed in Riyadh and where they stand heading into 2026.
Aryna Sabalenka (World No 1)
It took a flawless serving performance from Rybakina to stop Sabalenka from clinching a maiden WTA Finals crown.
And while she heads into the offseason having secured the year-end No 1 ranking for a second consecutive campaign, Sabalenka will no doubt spend some time thinking about the five finals she lost in 2025.
The 27-year-old Belarusian added four trophies to her resume this year – including a fourth major title at the US Open – and topped the leaderboard with the most wins (63) on the WTA Tour.
But looking ahead, Sabalenka, who is an incredible competitor, will have to find ways to manage her emotions in big matches on a more consistent basis, and stay composed when her opponents start red-lining against her. She’s the world No 1 for a reason and players will keep coming at her. It’s the ultimate sign of respect and she’ll have to be ready for it.
“The good thing is that I'm always there. The bad thing this season, I lost most of the biggest finals I made,” said Sabalenka on Saturday. “So, I guess I'll just sit back in the Maldives, and think back and try to analyse my behaviour, my emotions and think that actually it's been pretty good so far. I just need to get little bit better with myself a little bit more, and hopefully next season I'll improve.”
Iga Swiatek (world No 2)
Swiatek tried to explain why she wasn’t able to make it through the group stage in Riyadh and was stumped.
The Polish star had a perfect opener in the WTA Finals, dropping just three games to Madison Keys. She led by a set in each of her second and third matches but lost both, to Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova, respectively.
As a player renowned for being a ruthless frontrunner, losing from a winning position did not sit well with her.
But when the dust settles, Swiatek can look back and be proud of her season, in which she conquered her least favourite surface – grass – by winning Wimbledon, and significantly improved her serve.
She heads into 2026 hanging on firmly to her No 2 spot and has a shot at completing the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January.
Her challenge moving forward would be balancing the aggression she added to her game in the last couple of seasons with her supreme defensive skills, which has always been her bread and butter.
Coco Gauff (World No 3)
Gauff started her title defence in Riyadh with a three-set loss to Pegula that saw the 21-year-old American commit 17 double faults.
With her serve still a work in progress under the guidance of her new biomechanics coach Gavin MacMillan, Gauff is still searching for that flow on what eventually could become a truly devastating shot.
She didn’t advance to the semi-finals in the Saudi capital, but the opening set of her loss to Sabalenka in the group stage showed promising signs of what we can expect from Gauff next season.
“I would like to serve faster,” said Gauff when asked if her impressive serving in the first set against Sabalenka is how she’d like to be serving moving forward.
“But I feel after my first match, I had to take some pace off and just focus on hitting it high, like heavy kicks in the court. But I would like to mix in more flat and mix in more slider wides and things like that.
“With the serve, I feel like it was a good step. But I feel like that type of serving is what I can do when I feel like on an off day, but not how I would like to be on like an A-plus day.
“I just feel like my game is getting better. And I feel like I'm a step in the right direction. And I just want everything to mesh at one point so I can feel completely comfortable on the court.”
Amanda Anisimova (World No 4)
The only WTA Finals debutante in the field, Anisimova had a stellar week in the kingdom, reaching the semi-finals before losing a heartbreaking three-setter to Sabalenka.
The 24-year-old American finished the year playing brave and powerful tennis and can only take confidence from her 2025.
She said she feels like she belongs at the very top of the game and is certainly acting like it. Watch out for Anisimova in Australia!
Elena Rybakina (World No 5)
After months of ups and downs and drama surrounding her coach Stefano Vukov, who was suspended for breaking the WTA Code of Conduct, Rybakina caught fire in the last four weeks of the season, finishing the year on an 11-match winning streak.
She reminded everyone why she was once considered a key member of the WTA’s ‘Big Three’, alongside Sabalenka and Swiatek, and has moved back up to No 5 in the world.
If she keeps serving the way she did in Riyadh, and carry the confidence and momentum forward, she’ll be a top major contender in 2026.
Jessica Pegula (World No 6)
Some of the best matches of the week in Riyadh all featured Pegula.
The 31-year-old American is a master tactician and manages to turn any contest into a chess match.
She posted wins over each of the top three – Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff – this season and went down swinging against Rybakina in the semi-finals of the WTA Finals.
She sounds hungrier than ever to keep making improvements to her game and is expected to remain a consistent presence in the latter stages at all the big events.
Madison Keys (World No 7)
A virus hampered Keys’ performance in Riyadh, and the two-month break she took prior to the tournament to nurse an adductor injury didn’t help either.
But despite that, Keys put up a great fight against Anisimova in her second match before opting out of her third due to illness.
After starting the year with a title triumph at the Australian Open, Keys struggled to keep the momentum throughout her campaign.
She’ll head to Melbourne as the defending champion in January and is already thinking of ways to manage the pressure there.
“I think the biggest thing is getting to the point where it's not about not feeling the pressure, but knowing how to navigate through it,” she said in Riyadh.
Jasmine Paolini (World No 8)
Another player struck with illness last week, Paolini won just one of her six matches across singles and doubles at the WTA Finals.
It was bad luck for the Italian who spent five weeks in China prior to the event – a stretch that saw her guide her country to the Billie Jean King Cup title in Shenzhen, as well as make the quarters in Beijing, and the semis in Wuhan and Ningbo.
Paolini looked exhausted in Riyadh and needs a proper rest.
But once she’s got some R&R, she’ll start her preseason training knowing she’s firmly established herself among the top eight over the past two years and can keep up with the best of them on tour.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Results
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Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
